World Famous Astrophysicist Spotted in Upstate NY For The Eclipse

World-renowned astrophysicist was in Saratoga For The Eclipse

Monday was an eventful day here in Upstate New York as millions of New Yorkers donned their stylish cardboard eyewear to catch a glimpse - or a partial glimpse - of the Solar Eclipse.

Some people traveled hundreds of miles and sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic to see this scientific marvel, including one of the world's most famous astrophysicists, Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Who is Neil deGrasse Tyson?

Tyson has written several popular books on astrophysics, and his research focuses on observations in cosmology, stellar evolution, galactic astronomy, bulges, and stellar formation. As a foremost expert in science, he's held numerous positions at institutions including the University of Maryland, Princeton University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Hayden Planetarium.

After seeing a Facebook post by a woman from Saratoga named Mallorie, we followed up with her about her celebrity encounter. She told GNA that she ran into Tyson on Sunday afternoon while shopping for headphones at Best Buy.

She spotted him immediately, but the rest of her family wasn't convinced.  "That guy looks just like Neil deGrasse Tyson", she said but wasn't 100% sure.

My boyfriend was like "Where are you going, no it's not (him), let's go" and then he came out of the car and started walking towards them.

After introducing himself and explaining that he was in town to view the eclipse, she told him they were huge fans of StarTalk, a science, humor, and pop-culture podcast he hosts with Chuck Nice.

So he said, "Oh then you know Chuck Nice?"

A few moments later, Tyson came back outside with his podcast partner and the crew took a photo before he left.

"We asked if we could take a picture and said we were driving an hour north for the total eclipse Monday, and he said, "That should put us right in the action!"